UGANDA PUBLISHES REQUIREMENTS FOR AIRLINES TO COMPLY WITH AHEAD OF FLIGHT OPERATIONS RELAUNCH
(Posted 01st October 2020)
CURFEW ISSUE FINALLY ADDRESSED IN THE NICK OF TIME
Effective immediately has the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority published their latest aviation information service bulletin AIC A44/20 for ‘information, guidance and necessary action‘. Airlines arriving in Uganda will have to comply with the requirements or risk being stopped flying to the country.
The document also finally issues some clarity on the ongoing curfew, stating that a valid ticket AND boarding pass will be required to proceed to the airport, in effect necessitating every passenger to check in online and getting their boarding pass either on their smart phone or else print it for evidence at police and security check points.
Arriving passengers can proceed to their residences or hotels as long as they are able to show their ticket and boarding pass of the arriving flight, while drivers too, after delivering their guests, will have to produce similar evidence at police and security check points as they return home.
Travel agents in touch with ATCNews have expressed their hope that police and security personnel deployed on road blocks to enforce the ongoing curfew will have been briefed and given guidance to avoid any unpleasant scenes for not only passengers but in particular their Ugandan drivers or else citizens and residents delivering or picking passengers from the international airport.
Said one travel agent on condition of anonymity: ‘Pray this works from day one, they had after all enough time to prepare given other regional airports have been open for two months and more and not give nasty surprises on the day flights will resume‘.
Arrival and departure times for airlines will also be ‘spaced‘ to avoid the crowding often seen in the past at Entebbe International Airport, when several flights arrive and depart at the same time.
Individuals wanting to travel should therefore expect different arrival or departure times from what they may have been used to six months ago and should stay in close contact with their airline of choice to ensure they are aware of the new timings besides all other requirements such as #COVID19 tests.
